The weather here has been a bit cold but sunny. The first hint of cold is watching people walk past my hotel with winter coats, caps and boots. Surely the cold here doesn't compare with my old home, "Chicago" and the dampness of Seattle and Bellingham. But I put on my puffer coat, black pants, boots, and tie a pashmina scarf around my neck for use in the mosques that we will see. After about 30 minutes of walking I decide that even though this isn't the Chicago wind, it is cold and everyone is smart to wear winter gear. My scarf gets a workout and we stop for hot tea several times so my hands aren't so cold. Tomorrow I bring gloves!
Walking through Istanbul neighborhoods has got to be one of the best things to do here. Yes, the tourist stops to the bazaars, the spice market, the major mosques are in order when one comes to Istanbul, but the neighborhoods tell the real story of this ancient yet modern city. It is Friday noon and that means that the mosques are crowded with men attending Friday prayers. We stop at the Bayazit Mosque and look at the grandeur of the mosque once the men leave. There are so many men that I am guessing the office buildings, construction sites, government buildings and businesses are all empty or the women take over the businesses during Friday prayers. When living in Palestine, Friday was a day off work and the whole family dressed up to go to the mosque and spent the day with the family. In Turkey, the nation is secular, so days off are for some people Saturday and Sunday and for even more workers, Sunday is the only day off. But you can still go to the shops on Sunday and find a large crowd in the shops, in the mosques and museums. It is a very family oriented society.
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| Stray dogs and cats |
We walk through Istanbul University and it is huge. There are 51 colleges and universities in Istanbul alone with 1/5 of the population involved in higher education. Turkey values education and all families strive to send their children to college. As I walk and ride around the city, I see sites with Istanbul University signs everywhere. The group I have been working with, ISMEK, has 250,000 adults in continuing education classes with 6000 teachers scattered to all corners of Istanbul. ISMEK officials believe it is the largest continuing education program in the world. It is free for adults and paid by the government; the adults are wanting to get certificates of completion or to learn a trade. ISMEK is very big on the arts and so many people are learning the craftsmanship that is Turkey but could easily evaporate if techniques and design of the arts are not passed down. The atmosphere of learning is everywhere with all monuments posting boards and boards of information for the visitors in Turkish language and usually in English.
Since German and Russian visitors make up the majority of tourists here, many sites have explanations written in these languages as well. We stop at a park in the Fatih Sinanaga area and watch Syrian men teaching Syrian children how to play football (soccer). The boys are having so much fun and it is good to see something positive with Syrian children here. We stop for lamb kabob and the restaurant is run by Syrian men. I am told that many Syrians are given jobs in Turkey so they can support their families. This does not go over well with Turkish and Kurdish men who sometimes can't find work. Turkey is in a tough situation by providing for over 2 million refugees and making sure they are put into clean and safe quarters and have food and clothing and all the things refugees had to leave at home. When I was here last year I saw Syrian children begging, sometimes in traffic so I am surprised to see even less people asking for money now.
As Friday comes to a close I can hear the Call to Prayer at 5:30 pm and as always feel comforted that there is a sense of belief and protection by a higher power that keeps me safe and all of these lovely people of Turkey.
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| Bridge to Asia |
The weather here has been a bit cold but sunny. The first hint of cold is watching people walk past my hotel with winter coats, caps and boots. Surely the cold here doesn't compare with my old home, "Chicago" and the dampness of Seattle and Bellingham. But I put on my puffer coat, black pants, boots, and tie a pashmina scarf around my neck for use in the mosques that we will see. After about 30 minutes of walking I decide that even though this isn't the Chicago wind, it is cold and everyone is smart to wear winter gear. My scarf gets a workout and we stop for hot tea several times so my hands aren't so cold. Tomorrow I bring gloves!
Walking through Istanbul neighborhoods has got to be one of the best things to do here. Yes, the tourist stops to the bazaars, the spice market, the major mosques are in order when one comes to Istanbul, but the neighborhoods tell the real story of this ancient yet modern city. It is Friday noon and that means that the mosques are crowded with men attending Friday prayers. We stop at the Bayazit Mosque and look at the grandeur of the mosque once the men leave. There are so many men that I am guessing the office buildings, construction sites, government buildings and businesses are all empty or the women take over the businesses during Friday prayers. When living in Palestine, Friday was a day off work and the whole family dressed up to go to the mosque and spent the day with the family. In Turkey, the nation is secular, so days off are for some people Saturday and Sunday and for even more workers, Sunday is the only day off. But you can still go to the shops on Sunday and find a large crowd in the shops, in the mosques and museums. It is a very family oriented society.
We walk through Istanbul University and it is huge. There are 51 colleges and universities in Istanbul alone with 1/5 of the population involved in higher education. Turkey values education and all families strive to send their children to college. As I walk and ride around the city, I see sites with Istanbul University signs everywhere. The group I have been working with, ISMEK, has 250,000 adults in continuing education classes with 6000 teachers scattered to all corners of Istanbul. ISMEK officials believe it is the largest continuing education program in the world. It is free for adults and paid by the government; the adults are wanting to get certificates of completion or to learn a trade. ISMEK is very big on the arts and so many people are learning the craftsmanship that is Turkey but could easily evaporate if techniques and design of the arts are not passed down. The atmosphere of learning is everywhere with all monuments posting boards and boards of information for the visitors in Turkish language and usually in English. 
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